Chables b



(N0 Model.)

0. B. PAIRCHILD.

CABLE RAILWAY.

No. 300,236. Patented-June 10, 1884'.

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CHARLES B. FAIROHILD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CABLE RAl LWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 300,236, dated June l0,1884.

Application filed January 9, 1884. (No model.)

T all whom it may concern Be itknown that I, CHARLES Fnrncnrnn, of thecity, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Cable Railways; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full and exact description thereof, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference markedthereon, making a part of this specification.

My invention relates to cable railways operated with double or twincables, and to improved devices for gearing the cables together,protecting the same, and taking up the slack therein.

It consists in the combination, with the twin cables, of conical rollersarranged vertically in pairs at suitable intervals along the length ofthe cables, the lower portionof the rollers being grooved about theirperiphery, to receive and embrace between them within the grooves, andwith a constant frictional pressure, the main driving-cable, thesecondary cable being caught and gripped in the V-shaped opening betweenthe conical rollers, whose rotation, produced by themovement of thedriving-cable, is in this manner communicated to the secondary cable.

It consists, also, in the conibination,with the 0 car, the couplingdrumon the car over which ,the secondary cable is carried, and the conicalpulleys by which motion is communicated to said secondary cable, ofadjustable guide or tension pulleys adapted to tighten up the sec- 5ondary cable, and to protect it from contact and abrasion against theedges of the opening in the subway as it passes to and from thecoupling-drum.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a carmounted upon my improved cable railway, and arranged to be propelled bythe secondary cable. Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly in section, of thelongitudinal covered way in which the cables are inclosed. Fl 3 is atransverse section in line as a; of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a sectionalelevation, upon an enlarged scale, of the conical gearing-pulleys bywhich the movement of the driving-cable is communicated to the secondarycable.

continuously, in the usual manner, by means of a stationary enginelocated at a convenient point, and is supported upon suitable frictionrollers, B 13, within a continuous subway, 0, preferably sunken belowthe level of the ground between the rails upon which the ears run. Atsuitable points intermediate the supportingrollers B B the main cable isled between two conical rollers, D D, rotating freely upon verticalspindles D D projecting, the one,'D', from a base-plate, E, fixed uponthe bottom of the subway C, and the other, D,

from a movable block, E, sliding within a slot in the fixed base-plateto and from the first. A peripheral groove, d, is formed in thelowerportion of each of these conical gear-rollers D D, and the grooves,brought opposite to each other, serve to embrace closely the cable ledbetween them. The required frictional contact and pressure of therollers with and upon the cable is secured by an adjustment of themovable block E and its roller D, to and from the fixed roller, obtainedby means of a set-screw, F, actuating the sliding block E.

G is the secondary cable, which is supported within the subway C overthe main cable A, and geared to the latter, to move in unison therewith,by being led into the V-shaped opening between each pair of gear-rollersD D. The weight of the secondary cable serves, in connection with thewedge-shaped opening between the rollers D D, into which it drops, toproduce the required frictional contact with said rollers, whereby theirrotation, produced by the movement between them of the main cable, isimparted to the secondary cable. The secondary cable is led over a drum,H, mounted to rotate loosely in suitable hearings on each car, and theslack in the cable is taken up by means of guide or takeup pulleys K K,mounted in suitable bearings under the drum, with their axes parallelwith its axis. The bearings for one or both of said pulleys K may bemade adjustableby fitting the same in a sliding block, L", adapted tomove in suitable ways to and from the drum orthe vertical plane of itsaxis, this block being actuated and adjusted by means of a set-screw, F.By approximating the pulleys K K the cable G is tightened, and viceversa. The car is coupled to the cable, so as to be carried forward byand with it, by arresting the free rotation of the coupling-drum H, overwhich itis led.

This is accomplished by means of a frictionband,

M, carried over the periphery of the drum,

and which is tightened up, as required, by means of a rotatingbrake-rod, N, at the front of the car, connected by a chain and rod, N,with the longerarm of a crank-lever, N pivoted at its bend to thecar-frame, and whose shorter arm is coupled to the band,'as illustratedin Fig- 1 of the drawings. The move ment of the brake-rod, operating toloosen the band M and allow a free rotation of the coupling-drum H, ismade, by means of a second chain and rod, 0, and a lever, P, to actuatesimultaneous] y the brakes on the front and rear wheels of the car; Thecontinuous slot or opening in the top of the subway G, in which the maincable isextended, and within which are placed the gear-rollers bywhich'the secondary cable is coupled with the main cable, may be coveredand the subway and its contents protected from dust, dirt, snow, &c., bymeans of a series of longitudinal plates, Q Q, each adapted to slidetransversely in and out of a lateral recess, 1-, formed in one side oredge of the slot. These slides are forced outward to close automaticallythe opening in the subway by means of springs S,inserted in the rearthereof, and are forced back on the approach of each car, to permit thesecondary cable to be lifted out of the subway to pass over thedriving-drum on the car, by means of a finger, T, adapted to projectbeneath the car into the slot, the ends of the slides being beveled off,so that when struck by the finger it shall operate to force open theslide; The beveled ends of the slide are made to break joints, asillustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, so that as each slide is movedback by the car-finger T it shall operateto start back the next slide infront, so that, in fact, the depending finger glides along the edges ofthe slides without coming into contact with their ends.

To permitthe finger T to move readily and without strain around thecurves which are described by the subway in common with the rails of thetrack, itis secured to an arm or base-plate, which is pivoted to the bedor frame of the car. A second finger, T", is pivoted in like manner todepend from beneath the opposite end of the car, and serves to keep theslides open until the cable has dropped back into the subway as the carpasses over it. The

bearings for the guide and tension pulleys K K are preferably mounted inhangers depending so low as to carry the pulleys into the longitudinalopening or slot in the subway C, so that the cable led over them shallbe protected thereby from contact with the sides of the opening as itpasses up to and returns from the coupling-drum H;

In the operation of my invention the endless main cable A, being kept inconstant motion, will, in passing-between the conical rollers D D, which,bear closely thereon, cause theirrotation.Thesuperimposedendlesssecondary cable G, led between the convergingfaces of each pair of these conical rollers,will, by its weight, soengage said rollers as to be carried continuously forward thereby inunison with the main cable, and as it admits of being readily liftedfrombetweenthe rollers which propel it, and does not engage any fixed orstationary mechanism, it passes readily over a loose drum, H, on eachcar on the railway. So long assaid drum is left wholly free to rotateloosely in its bearings, the cable, running freely over it, will have noeffect upon the car; but by locking the drum, through amovement of thebrake-rod N, actuating the frictionband Mwhich said movement willoperate simultaneously to release the brakes from the wheels of thecarthe car becomes fastened to the secondary cable, and is carriedforward thereby. As in locking the loose drum Hthe friction-band Mbecomes gradually tightened, any sudden jerk of the car in starting isprevented, for the drum will slip under the band more orless until thecar has acquired the same rate of movement as the cable. The release ofthe secondary cable from the grip of the conical pulleys is greatlyfacilitated by their conical form, which in their rotation tends, sosoon as an upward inclination is given to the cable, to work it upwardout from between them, while the corresponding inclination of the cableas it drops back from the car tends in like manner to cause it to workin between the rotating rollers. The subway O is uncovered, so as topermit, the secondary cable to be lifted therefrom as the car advancesby the movement of the advance finger T, depending from the car betweenthe coveringplates and the edge of the slot in the top of the way, theplates being kept open by the rear'finger, T until the cable has, afterpassing over the drum on the car, dropped-back into the subway. As eachplate opens it tends to open the next plate in front of it in advance ofthe finger, so that the finger simply moves along the edge of theslotted opening without contact with the ends of the plates. Any undueslackness in the secondary cable is readily taken up by an approximationof the guide or take-up pulleys K K on one or more of the cars coupledto the cable; and I contemplate causing them to operate automatically,so as to produce aconstant tension upon the cable, by combining a springwith the set-screw actuating the movable pulley, so that the springshall tend constantly to produce an approximation of the two pulleys,and thus exert a constant elastic strain upon the cable to maintain itstension. As these guide-pulleys are carried within the longitudinal slotor opening in the subway, they protect effectually the cable passingover them from injurious contact with its edges.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a twin-cable railway, the combination,with the two superimposed cables, of a series of vertical conicalrollersarranged in pairs, each pair being made to embrace the main cablebetween them with close frictional contact,

10 side of its axis and adapted to engage said cable, substantially inthe manner and for the purpose herein set forth.

In testimony whereof Ihave signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES 1 3. FAIRGHILD.

\Vitn esses:

A. W. Srmon'e, A. MOORE.

